This policy brief offers recommendations for EU policymakers based on lessons learned from the DEFINITE-CCRI project, which brought together high-impact circular economy projects and funding institutions to boost the transition to a circular economy. We focus on three types of common and emerging circular businesses: 1) material recovery businesses, 2) circular platform businesses, and 3) circular hubs. For each, we identify specific challenges they face in accessing private investment, and propose EU-level policy solutions to remove those barriers, complemented with case studies of businesses that received project development assistance through the DEFINITE-CCRI project.